Chopin: Cello Sonata & Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata

The solemn Arpeggione is prefigured here by Isserlis’s arrangement of Chopin’s achingly beautiful ‘Nie ma czego trzeba’. Again in this Sonata, the duo offer graceful transparency, lithe refinement... — BBC Music Magazine, November 2018, More…

Release Date: 28th Sep 2018
Catalogue No: CDA68227
Label: Hyperion

Record Review

29th September 2018

Recording of the Week
Gramophone Magazine

October 2018

Recording of the Month
Presto Recordings of the Year

Finalist 2018
Presto Recording of the Week

21st December 2018

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Chopin: Introduction and Polonaise Brillante in C, Op. 3

Steven Isserlis (cello), Dénes Várjon (piano)

I. Introduction

II. Alla Polacca

Franchomme: Nocturne for Cello and Piano, Op. 15 No. 1

Steven Isserlis (cello), Dénes Várjon (piano)

Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65

Steven Isserlis (cello), Dénes Várjon (piano)

I. Maestoso

II. Scherzo

III. Largo

IV. Finale: Allegro

Chopin: Nie ma czego trzeba (I Want What I Have Not), Op. 74 No. 13

Steven Isserlis (cello), Dénes Várjon (piano)

Schubert: Sonata in A minor 'Arpeggione', D821

Steven Isserlis (cello), Dénes Várjon (piano)

I. Allegro Moderato

II. Adagio

III. Allegretto

Schubert: Nacht und Träume, D827

Steven Isserlis (cello), Dénes Várjon (piano)

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Cellists have cause to be thankful for the impracticality and swift demise of the arpeggione, which allowed the appropriation of Schubert’s wonderful sonata for their own instrument. Dénes Várjon’s 1851 Érard lends characterful zest both here and in Chopin, while bonuses include Steven Isserlis’s own transcriptions of songs by both composers.

Reviews

November 2018

The solemn Arpeggione is prefigured here by Isserlis’s arrangement of Chopin’s achingly beautiful ‘Nie ma czego trzeba’. Again in this Sonata, the duo offer graceful transparency, lithe refinement with a compelling edginess. Schubert’s dances cast dark shadows, tears glisten through the Adagio’s consoling melodies. Spellbinding.

October 2018

We get a real sense of give and take from the off, Isserlis and Várjon giving Chopin’s lines a pliable quality that brings them to life...Their Schubert Arpeggione is similarly thoughtful and full of details that so often pass by unnoticed...Even among Isserlis’s many fine discs, this one stands out. And if you still need convincing that the Chopin Cello Sonata is a total masterpiece, this is the recording to do it.

December 2018

Isserlis and Várjon provide a probing and beautifully coloured account of the Arpeggione and make a convincing case for Chopin’s more challenging sonata.

21st December 2018

The choice of an 1851 Érard piano gives Isserlis the opportunity both here and in Schubert’s justly famous ‘Arpeggione’ Sonata to vary and shape his beautiful singing tone, altering bow speed, vibrato and dynamics as phrases rise and fall without ever being swamped by the piano. But neither do they lack power and excitement when required, and so thrilling is the cascading finale of the Polonaise that I found myself listening to it three times before allowing myself to progress to the Sonata!

23rd September 2018

From the majesty of the Chopin to the simple elegance of the Schubert. Isserlis’s singular mellow lyricism suits this repertoire perfectly. Várjon is deft and poised in accompaniment. The bonus is a Schubert song, Nacht und Träume, transcribed for cello and piano by Isserlis, an unmitigated nocturnal pleasure.

December 2018

The best things on this disc are Isserlis’s own arrangements of songs by Chopin and Schubert – music that best suits the dusky sound of the entire album.

Chopin: Cello Sonata & Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata

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